The real downgrade is whoever is the last man in the pen instead of Hader. That’s a huge difference. Not to mention leverage guys will inevitably be overworked.
I disagree. I think this team has 2 Tier 1 RP ( Hader, Abreu) 3 Tier 2 RP ( King, Okert, Sousa) and 6 or 7 Tier 3 RP The #6 and #7 guys in the bullpen will be comparable regardless because of the overall depth. Using the Tier 2 guys to replace Abreu hurts but the biggest difference will be the #5 guy who needs to pitch 6th/7th innings when the leverage guys need days off.
Sure, but that’s another #6/7 arm that is now in the pen because he’s hurt. When you look at the bullpens stats at the end of the season, the difference would quite literally be the numbers from that extra 6/7 versus the numbers Hader would give you.
Thats one-way to look at it But for the most part, the last guy in the bullpen will pitch in the same games regardless and I just don't see much difference in the bottom guy in MLB and best guy in AAA. Fortunately, the top 5 in the Astros 'pen are very solid which is why the guy moving from 6th to 5th due to injury is the wildcard. Of course I am very high on Blubaugh and Murray and if one or both of them step up it could be a non-issue.
I think a nice move the team could make , would be to bring in a veteran bat that isnt completely washed , but who is getting production from his mental edge .... so that he can pass some knowledge down the ladder. Looking back at 2017-19 etc .... i think you can probably say that having brantley and yuli improved Bregman, correa, springer et all's improvement We need more batters that make pitchers work and are smart at the plate . Can diaz please get struck by lightning and he discovers a proper approach at the plate ?
